A proposal to raise Los Angeles’ minimum wage to at least $13.25 had its first public hearing Tuesday, with dozens of supporters and opponents packing City Hall’s council chambers to offer sharply different views of the plan.

Tuesday’s hearing was held before an economic panel chaired by several City Council members, who ordered a study on the two proposals and asked for it to be completed by Feb. 1. Garcetti has stated he wants to see City Council passage of his minimum wage law in January.

Andy Hasroun, president of the Atwater Village of Commerce, warned council members that businesses wouldn’t be able to absorb the higher costs. He also echoed a commonly heard fear: that businesses would leave Los Angeles.

“(They) will move down the street to neighboring cities like Glendale and Burbank,” Hasroun said.

By contrast, worker Velvet Victorian took to the podium to urge council members to raise wages to keep up with rising rental costs. She pays more than $1,000 a month in rent, adding, “It’s been rough.”

Kendall Henry, who runs Skye Rentals in Burbank, which caters to the film and television industry, also voiced support for Garcetti’s plan, telling council members that low wages cause “unstable families and an unstable economy.”

Henry came to the hearing after being invited by Garcetti’s office, he said. The Mayor’s Office told supporters about Tuesday’s hearing through Facebook, phone calls and email, mayoral spokesman Jeff Millman said.

The mayor’s extensive campaign to raise Los Angeles’ minimum wage also includes a website and signature-gathering efforts. During Tuesday’s hearing, the mayor’s official Twitter feed sent out messages of support for the plan.

Councilman Mitch O’Farrell, who has expressed concerns about a wage hike’s effects on businesses, alerted business owners about Tuesday’s meeting, an O’Farrell spokesman said.

The issue of hourly wages and income inequality has dominated the discussion at City Hall in recent weeks, spurred by a nationwide trend of cities moving to set pay levels.

Seattle and San Diego recently enacted higher wage laws, while voters in San Francisco and Oakland will next month consider raising pay levels in their cities.

Last month, the council passed a law requiring larger hotels to pay workers $15.37 an hour. Supporters contend that hotel employees, many of whom are minorities and women, can’t afford to adequately support their families.